A kidnapping ended at a Goodwill store in Mississippi, feds say. Now pair is charged
A Tennessee mother entrusted who she thought was a friend’s sister to watch her son while she traveled to Nashville for the weekend, officials say.
A day later, the 2-year-old was found alone at a Mississippi Goodwill store along with a bag of clothes and a note.
Federal authorities on Thursday announced kidnapping charges against two suspects. Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and Turliscea Turner, 29, could now face a possible life sentence on charges of kidnapping the boy and then abandoning him at a thrift store in Southaven, Mississippi, on Monday, a news release says.
The pair, both from Memphis, also may be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say Turner, who was posing as Fitzgerald’s sister, agreed to watch the little boy as Fitzgerald and the mother stayed in Nashville overnight. While there, Fitzgerald allegedly tried to prostitute the boy’s mother and grew upset when she refused, authorities said in a complaint.
“The next morning, Fitzgerald, Turner, and an unknown subject drove and transported the child across a state boundary from Memphis to Southaven, Mississippi,” prosecutors said in the Thursday news release. “When they stopped at a gas station, Fitzgerald took the child out of the car to a nearby Goodwill store and abandoned him there.”
The boy’s mother, whom Fitzgerald had abandoned a day earlier in Nashville, was unaware of the plot, officials said.
In an interview with a local activist, the woman described Fitzgerald as a “male acquaintance” and said she had no intention of giving up her son. The two reportedly met on a dating site and were looking for someone to babysit the boy so they could party at the bars in Nashville, according to court documents.
“If I knew that, I said I wouldn’t have left my baby like that,” she said, according to WREG. “Ain’t no way I would have left my baby. That’s all I got with me.”
The boy’s mother said she later learned the woman she thought was Fitzgerald’s sister was actually his girlfriend, the news station reported.
During the course of the reported kidnapping, prosecutors said Fitzgerald contacted the boy’s aunt and demanded cash in exchange for his safe return. He allegedly tried to justify his actions, saying he did it “because [the boy’s mother] lost his money, so he wanted his money,” court documents state.
Southaven police said the child was dropped off at the Goodwill around 9:40 Monday morning. Surveillance video captured Fitzgerald and Turner, both sporting dark clothing and face masks, walking the toddler to the spot where he was found and then leaving in a maroon-colored car.
Both were arrested later that same day, but not before prosecutors said Fitzgerald crashed the car trying to flee police.
“We would like to thank all of the citizens who showed concern for the child, rest assured he is well, and being taken care of and will be reunited with family when (Child Protective Services) determines this is proper,” Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore said in a statement.
News of the incident soon sparked an “overflow” of offers to foster the child, officials at the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services told WLBT. MDCPS Commissioner Andrea Sanders gushed at the “overwhelming generosity” and said the department has received calls from as far away as California from people offering to help the little boy.
Authorities said the incident remains under investigation.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 4:16 PM.